Living & Working in Great Places

Where is a good place for a newbie to start?

Hi to everyone on this post. I am just beginning to look at the possibilities of becoming a seasonal employee and was wondering if there is a particular place that would be a good place to get my feet wet. I have two girls living in L.A. so was leaning toward being close enough to visit occasionally. Ideally, I think I would like water and mountains.

Tags: l.a., mountains, possiblilities, water

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Permalink Reply by Keith Larson on June 14, 2009 at 3:57pm: I am assuming next summer at the earliest, right?

Personally, I think the best water/mountain combo is the Grand Tetons....

...but there is water in both Yosemite and Sequoia, and both are much more accessible to LA.

If you want really close to LA and will sacrifice some of the mountains for more water there is Catalina Island.

Take your time, look around.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Janet A Taylor on June 14, 2009 at 6:21pm: Hi Keith, Do you think one company is better to work for than another? If so, which one do you prefer and why? Also, when it comes to living environment, do you find one of these situations more "older" friendly? I am definately going to take my time and think this through thoroughly. I tend to get antsy after 2 years in one place so instead of thinking I need to learn to stay put I'm thinking maybe it's o.k. to have wanderlust like many of you on this website.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Keith Larson on June 15, 2009 at 8:21pm: Hi Janet,

First, I really don't get into all the variables of suggesting individual places. Maybe my blog http://my.coolworks.com/profiles/blogs/ketchup-on-waffles will cover it if you want to know why I don't bother.

Second, I haven't personally been to every place to be able to give an unbiased answer. A lot of your season will be directly related to the handful of people that you would be working most closely with too.

Now, some very big generalizations:
1) The bigger the place is--like national parks compared to smaller privately owned operations--the more likely there are to be more older adults. The smaller places are not older-unfriendly it's just a numbers game...there are so many more people in their early-20s. Like the lodge I'm at now there are 10 employees...I'm 47, there are 3 in their late 20s and 6 in their early 20s...but it's not a big deal to me, nor them.

2) The smaller the place is, or the more remote the place is...there is usually somewhat better pay involved.

3) If you're looking to bring in RV, that puts some limits overall. Outside the large western and some Alaskan national parks there is very little chance of having a spot where in RV can be hooked up.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by James Callahan on June 15, 2009 at 11:20am: Grand Teton Lodge Co.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Janet A Taylor on June 15, 2009 at 5:18pm: Hi James, Do they have available R.V. sites. I'm thinking it would be nice to have some space of my own so I can retreat when I need to. I saw you suggested to someone to learn wines and get a Sommalier certificate. I would love to make more money than seems likely at most jobs here. Where would you go to make more money? And are there drawbacks to these places? I might be expecting too much in the beginning but I thought if I prepared myself and looked for specific kinds of jobs I might be happier in the end.
That is a good looking fish! Thanks for the help.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by James Callahan on June 16, 2009 at 10:38am: They do! I have my own Travel Trailer and I stayed there in 2006. The spots are nice and wooded. Buy an airstream if you get an RV, they will hold their value :)
Lets see. When I worked at the Mural Room at GTLC I was making ~$165 a night after tip out on average. It is great money!
I like GTLC because they close down in the winter. That means that when you arrive, everyone else does as well... (for the most part). You will meet all sorts of new people and have some friends which are hard to find in the RV park.

It is probably the best place to get a job if you want to get hired as a fine dining server without any credentials. Once you get in the door there, you can get jobs easier elsewhere. I must say though, that depending on your age, a lot of restaurants will discriminate against you if you are not 35+. You could be the best server and be a Sommelier and they still won't look at you because they have a certain "image" they want to keep.
You will find this in large cities or popular year round resort areas like Las Vegas. In most cases with being a Fine Dining server, it boils down to WHO you know....not what you know.

I would always recommend getting education. Buy a copy of the Wine Bible and read it cover to cover. Drink as many "new" wines that you learn about as you can. Take simple notes and keep them in a binder. Take the introductory Sommelier course. It is offered like 20 times a year at places all around the country. This is knowledge that will help you sell wine, sell more expensive wine, give your table a sense of confidence in you, increase your tips, and ultimately help you know about an esoteric facet of society that very few know about.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by david geldhof on June 19, 2009 at 2:21pm: I am new at this also, any info you could share with my wife and I would be a great help in deciding on a location for us, purchase a 5th wheel or rent ect.ect. any reply would be great. Thanks dgeldhof@live.com; ▶ Reply to This